Switch actuating mechanism



May 8, 1956 w. c. BUCK swITcH ACTUATING MECHANISM Filed Deo. ll, 1953 United States Patent() SWITCH ACTUATING MECHANISM William C. Buck, Denver, Colo., assignor to Creative Services, Inc., a corporation of Colorado Application December 11, 1953,' Serial No. 397,724

2 Claims. (Cl. Z110-172)v light source, and` in many cases is substantially concealed l by the lamp shade. As a consequence of such arrangement it is often diicult for the person using the lamp to find the switch-actuating mechanism, either visually or by fumhling with his lingers around the region where it is located. The application of the necessary manual force to operate the switch actuating mechanism after it has been located is sometimes hampered by the lack of sulicient space for the user of the lamp to manipulate the mechanism.

2,744,985 "Patented May 8, 1956 be understood that two or more slots: may be provided. These slots extend toy substantially the bottom of shell 3.

A tubular shell 7 telescopes over the upper portion of shell 3 `with a tight frictional t. The shell 7 has an electric socket 8. adjacent itsl upper end. adapted to receive an electric light bulb 9 and its. upper end I0 is ilared outwardly to tit the base of a rellector bowl 11. The outwardly liared end 10f.may be provided4 with set screws 12A to provide greater stability for the reflector bowl support. If desired, a lamp shade may bey secured to the upper endy of the lamp structure in any conventional manner.

A switch housing 13 houses a conventional; switch (not shown) provided with a pull cord or chain 14 operable toy actuate the switch. If the lamp contains a plurality of circuits a single lswitch may be utilized to energize the circuits separately upon successive actuations of the switch by the pull cord, each actuation. of the switch being effective to de-energize the preceding circuit. A plurality of circuits in a single lamp may also be connected to separate switches, each with its own actuating mechanism.

Switches of the type herein referred to have also been .n

to the reliector bowl or the lamp shade, or may be l mounted adjacent the lamp base. -Whether the spider is .positioned below the lamp shade or is substantially concealed within the area of the lamp shade, it may be located without diculty and may be readily operated from almost any direction to actuate the switch. If the spider is located near the lamp base it may be operated by foot pressure.

The structure by means of which the above and other advantages of the invention are attained will be described in detail in the following specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, showing a preferred illustrative embodiment of the invention, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an electric lamp embodying the invention, with parts broken away to facilitate illustration of the switch actuating mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cross sectional view, taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view, similar to Fig. 1, showing a lamp having the switch actuating mechanism adjacent the base of the lamp.

In the drawing, the reference numeral 2 indicates the upper portion of a lamp standard to which a tubular shell 3 is rigidly secured in any suitable manner The shell 3 is provided with a plurality of slots, 4, 5 and 6. Although three slots are shown in the drawing, it should The switch actuating mechanism comprises a spider including a central hub -1`5 suitably connected to pull cord 14 and a plurality of arms- 16, 17 and 18 each ex.- tending radially from hub 15 through one of the slots 4, 5V or 6. ln Fig. l the hub is provided with a vertical bore 19 through which pull cord 14 extends. The end of pull cord-14 is provided with an enlarged knob 20 to prevent separation of the pull. cord and the hub. Arms 16, 17 and 18 are normally held against the lower edge of tubular shell 7, with thevlower edge of each arm spaced above the lower edge of its slots 4, S or 6, by a conventional return spring (not shown) secured to the upper end of pull cord 14, so that each arm is movable downwardly in its sloty by force applied to a ring 21 connected to the outer ends of the arms.

If one portion of the spider is depressed by downward force applied to one portion of ring 21, the diametrically opposite portion tends to move upwardly. Such upward movement is prevented by the. engagement of the upper edge portion of one or two of the arms16, 17 or 13 with the adjacent portion of the lower edge of shell 7. Ac,- cordingly, the force appliedv downwardly against any portionof the spider or ling, 21 is transmitted directly to pull cord 14, and, if the force is strongl enough, pulls the cord downwardly to actuate the switch. After the switch has been actuated and the grasp on ring 21 or the spider is released, the force of the return spring (not shown) re turns the spider to its normal position.

If the downward force is applied adjacent one of the arms, for example 16, the arm 16 moves downwardly freely in its slot 4, and the spider acts as a lever of the second class, with fulcrums at the points of engagement of the upper edges of arms 17 and 18 with the lower edge of tubular shell 7. If the downward force is applied to ring 21 near the mid point between two of the arms, for example 16 and 17, both arms 16 and 17 move downwardly in their respective slots 4 and 5, and the spider is fulcrumed at the point of engagement of the upper edge of arm 18 with the lower edge of tubular shell 7. The distance between the fulcrum and the hub 15 is so much less than the length of the lever that only slight force is required to actuate the switch. The switch may also be actuated by force applied in an upward direction against any portion of ring 21. If one edge of the spider is lifted by force applied, for example, to ring 21 adjacent arm 16, the spider then acts as a lever of the rst class and its fulcrum is at the point of engagement of the upper edge of arm 16 with the lower edge of tubular shell 7. In this case the arms 17 and 18 move downwardly in their respective slots 5 and 6, and pull cord 14 is pulled downwardly to actuate the switch. If the lifting force is applied to ring 21 midway between arms 16 and 17 the spider will be fulcrumed at the points of engagement of the lower edges of arms 16 and 17 with the lower edge of tubular shell 7 and arm 18 will move downwardly in slot 6. From the foregoing it will be obvious that the switch may be actuated by force applied either upwardly 'or downwardly against any portion of the ring 21.

In Fig. 3 the switch actuating mechanism is positioned adjacent the base of the lamp. In this embodiment the base`22 has a tubular upper portion into which the lower portion of the standard 23 fits. The standard is hollow to provide a conduit for electric wiring 24 connecting the socket to the switch which is contained in the housing 24. The lower portion of standard 23 is provided with longitudinal slots 25, 26 and 27. One or more set screws 28 hold the standard in predetermined vertical position with the closed ends of slots 25, 26 and 27 positioned above the upper edge 29 of base 22. A spider comprising a center hub 30 and radially extending arms 31, 32 and 33 is arranged with the arms extending through slots 25, 26 and 27, respectively. The exposed portion of each slot is longer than the height of the arms 31, 32 and 33 so that they may move upwardly in their respective slots. A pull cord 34 extending from switch housing 24 extends through a vertical bore in hub 30 and is held against separation from the hub by an enlarged end 35. The outer ends of arms 31, 32 and 33 are connected by a ring 36.

The operation of the switch actuating mechanism of Fig. 3 is essentially the same as in the structure of Fig. 1. If a person steps on ring 36 near the end of arm 31, the spider will move as a lever of the first class, with the point at which the lower edge of arm 31 engages the upper edge 29 of base 22 as a fulcrum, and arms 32 and 33 will move upwardly to pull cord 34 upwardly into switch actuating position. Cord 34 is provided with a return spring which exerts constant force urging the pull cord downwardly. As in the embodiment of Fig. l, a lifting force applied to ring 36 at any point on its periphery will cause the spider to move as a lever of the second class, with its fulcrum at the intersection of the lower edges of the oppositely disposed arms, to pull cord 34 to switch actuating position.

Although I have described two preferred embodiments of my invention in considerable detail, it will be understood that the description thereof is intended to be illustrative, rather than restrictive, as many details of the structure may be modified or changed without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, for example, the pull cord switch actuating means may be replaced by a conventional push button type switch actuator 4 and placed in proximity to the arms of the spider so that movement of the ring in either direction will act on the button to actuate the switch. Accordingly, I do not desire to be restricted to the exact construction described.

I claim:

l. In a lamp, a standard, a tubular shell secured to said standard, said shell having a plurality of slots extending downwardly from its upper edge, a spider cornprising a hub and a plurality of arms extending radially from said hub, said arms each extending through one of said slots, a second tubular shell telescoped over the upper portion of said rst tubular shell, the lower edge of said second shell closing the upper portion of each of said slots and forming an upper end for each of said slots spaced from the lower end thereof a distance slightly greater than the height of said arms, each of said arms engaging a corresponding end of its slot and being movable to a limited extent in one vertical direction, a switch mounted in said second shell, a pull cord extending from said switch for actuating it, said pull cord being secured to said hub, whereby force applied against any of said arms in either vertical direction urges said pull cord towards switch actuating position.

2. In a lamp standard, a tubular shell secured to said standard, said shell having a plurality of slots extending downwardly from its upper edge, a spider comprising a hub and a plurality of arms extending radially from said hub, said arms each extending through one of said slots, a ring rigidly secured to the outer ends of each of said arms, a second tubular shell telescoped over the upper portionlof said rst tubular shell, the lower edge of said second shell closing the upper portion of each of said slots and forming an upper end for each of said slots spaced from the lower end thereof a distance slightly greater than the height of said arms, each of said arms engaging a corresponding end of its slot and being movable to a limited extent in one vertical direction, a switch mounted in said second shell and, a pull cord extending from said switch for actuating it, said pull cord being secured to said hub, whereby force applied against any portion of said ring in said one vertical direction moves said ring portion in the direction of the applied force to urge said pull cord towards switch actuating position, and force applied in the opposite vertical direction fulcrums the adjacent arm against the end of the slot engaged by said arm to force the diametrically opposite portion of said ring in said one vertical direction to urge said pull cord towards switch actuating position.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,654,817 Bremen oct. 6, '3

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